The FDA has announced that warning labels will be placed on every bottle of ephedra sold in the US cautioning users that the herb can cause heart attacks or strokes. The FDA stopped short of banning the herb outright, which was supported by some consumer advocates. The move comes after a Baltimore Oriole pitcher who used ephedra died. Senator Orrin Hatch said the announcement appears to be a reasonable, if long overdue, step in designing science-based rules pertaining to the use of a product about which public concern has been expressed for many, many years. Hatch was one of the authors of the 1994 legislation which limited FDA oversight over products such as ephedra.
[FDA Ephedra Report]
Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joins Senator Patrick Leahy and Representatives Mark Foley and Gary Ackerman at a news conference today at 10 AM MST to announce a new version of the Anti-Atrocity Alien Deportation Act, which would oust torturers and war criminals from the US.
[Text of Act]
Governor Leavitt announced Monday that he would call a special session of the Legislature in June to correct a technical error in SB66, which authorized beer tax money to go to law enforcement agencies  for drunken driving prevention and prosecution. The privatization of the Worker's Compensation Fund could also be on the agenda.
The Environmental Protection agency has been spraying harmless substances over fields in Oklahoma to test the capability of radar to detect a bioterrorist attack. Similar tests have also been conducted in Utah and Florida.
Asbestos litigation legislation has apparently entered murky waters in the US House. Originally Representatives Chris Cannon and Calvin Dooley united to support legislation supported the the Asbestos Alliance, a group led by the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce to limit the cost of litigation for claims of asbestos-related illness. Now it appears that the two are split on the extent of tort reform required in the bill.
[HR1114]

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